No Miles Davis or John Coltrane in this list, but you can hear them both here in this superb 1956 album that defies easy categorization.

This is about as good as it gets too.

Can't beat this because it is probably the best album by the best guitarist and every track is superb. Makes Clapton look slow.

Wonderful. Possibly the most underrated genius in American music. This double-CD set is an excellent collection of small group intstrumentals.

I love the music of Django Reinhardt and I think my first jazz purchase was an LP of his music. But as a recording artist Lagrene is possibly BETTER than Django. This is an absolutely superb album, a real treasure. However the 3-hour live concert DVD of Lagrene and Friends called Jazz at Vienne is even better than this CD.

This is in everyone's best CDs list, but with good reason.

Lovely. lovely music, from a seminal group with Chet Baker at his very best. This is good, honestly.

Classic bossanova fusion album with that song about a young lady from a suburb of Rio.

One of the few jazz bands that was really an orchestra. This is a superb Latin-tinged suite of orchestral jazz that is the best thing of its kind.

Practically unbeatable duet between the pianist and guitarist and the most recent remastering really adds something.

With Ben Webster. Very nice.

Fred went into studio in 1950s to record his hits with a sextet that included Oscar Peterson and Barney Kessell. This is the one to have, or splash out on the 2-CD set.

This is really a really terrific live album. Every single tune is great, especially the rousing version of Chick Corea's Spain. This one will wake you up, fill you with energy, make you happy every time you hear it. What do you want from a CD? A masterpiece.

One of my favorites. I like to listen over breakfast at the weekend.

This is the band that was the beginning of the end for Artie Shaw as it bombed on the road, not because the music was bad. The music is quite superb, but audiences just wanted to jitterbug and hear Artie's greatest hits of yesteryear. So the greatest genius of jazz quit the business at the very height of his powers.

Title pretty much says it. All the songbooks albums are good and I also recommend Here Comes Charlie, a small group album that was the first or second jazz CD I ever bought in 1968.

Reverse order chronologically from his late period hits to the early hard stuff, but it is all good stuff and Louis is always totally original and inimitable.

Great stride pianist had particularly good rapport with the sax and clarinet player. Delightful. Wellstood, who was a lawyer had quite a sense of humor and the "orchestra" is actually a duet. Highly recommended.

One of the all time great bands, maybe the best ever.

Back in the fifties the word "swinging" did not mean what you thought. Shame on you.